Components & Peripherals News
Intel’s Jason Kimrey: Windows 7 End-Of-Life Opportunity Is ‘Unprecedented’
Dylan Martin
“[There are roughly] 40 million devices that still are [running] Windows 7 today that have to be upgraded [with Microsoft ending support and security updates for Windows 7 effective Jan. 14, 2020],” said Intel Channel Chief Jason Kimrey. “This is an incredible opportunity. If you look at the data from any of our client [device] partners they're doing well because of this opportunity. Now is the time to really finish the job.”
Processor Shortage Is ‘Getting Better Every Day’
Intel U.S. Channel Chief Jason Kimrey told CRN that the chip giant has “prioritized” the commercial market for processor supply shipments with the result being the shortage in the channel is “getting better every day.”
Kimrey, who has made it a priority to step up communication with partners regarding the shortage, said he has seen a marked improvement in supply through a lot of partners.
[Related: Jason Kimrey: Intel’s Data-Centric Platform Strategy Is A Winning Hand For Partners]
“I think the key message here is the client [device] business is going well,” he said in a recent interview. “We still have this incredible opportunity leading up to Jan. 14, [2020,] to capitalize on this [Windows 7 end-of-life] opportunity. I think our supply is healthy to target that market, and I think that we've got an incredible opportunity leading up to that and then to continue fulfilling that opportunity as we go through the first half of 2020.”
Intel CEO Bob Swan last fall said in an open letter to partners and customers that the company was addressing the shortage by investing an additional $1 billion in capital expenditures on 14-nanometer manufacturing sites in Oregon, Arizona, Ireland and Israel. "This capital along with other efficiencies is increasing our supply to respond to your increased demand," he had said.
Kimrey said Intel has stepped up communication on the shortage to distributors, national partners, Intel Technology Partner program members and OEMs.
“I think our partners would say that it's been materially better in the first half of this year than in the past, and that's been a big part of my strategy: to be more transparent and to share information,” he said.
What follows is an edited transcript based on CRN's interview with Kimrey, who also talked about the impact of Intel's F-series processors on supply, the Device-as-a-Service opportunity for partners and what its data-centric strategy means for the channel.
